Help With Hoarding Disorder

People with hoarding disorder excessively save items that others may view as worthless. They have persistent difficulty getting rid of or parting with possessions, leading to clutter that disrupts their ability to use their living or work spaces.

Several organizations provide brief online screenings for depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health conditions. More than one million people took screenings through the Mental Health America site alone in 2016.

People with serious mental illness exposed to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of medications are more likely to stop taking their medications than those not exposed to the advertising, according to new research published in Psychiatric Services in Advance.

Despite increasing public awareness and discussion about mental illness and substance use disorders, stigma is still a major barrier to many people seeking treatment. New research has identified communication strategies that are effective in reducing stigma and increasing public support for policies and programs benefitting people with behavioral health conditions.

There have been a number of TV shows and other media coverage about people with hoarding behaviors. Has this changed the way people in general view hoarding disorder or peoples’ willingness to get help?

TV shows have raised awareness of the devastating impact hoarding behaviors can have on the individual and their loved ones. It is important for those affected to understand that TV shows, by their nature, may not capture all the time, effort and hard work that is a necessary part of any mental health treatment program. Hoarding, which became a new diagnostic entry in the DSM in 2013, affects about 2-6 percent of individuals. People with hoarding disorder have difficulty parting with possessions, clutter that interferes with normal functioning and marked distress and impairment. More

Are there early signs that a person may have hoarding disorder? Is it primarily a problem among older adults?

Initial start of hoarding symptoms is thought to happen in childhood or adolescence (typical onset is around age 13) and it is chronic and progressive. Hoarding is more common in older than younger age groups.

Below are some early signs that an adolescent may have hoarding behaviors. These behaviors are typically mild, and progress over years. They may become a severe problem in adults in their 50s. However, not every person with hoarding symptoms has a hoarding disorder.

Lainie was a 47-year-old single woman referred to a community mental health team for treatment of depression and anxiety. She had never taken any psychiatric medication but had undergone CBT for depression 5 years earlier.

City Sun times

Registration is open for Area Agency on Aging hoarding therapy groups for Maricopa County residents 60 and older challenged by compulsive object hoarding and who are willing to self-identify and commit to addressing the disorder. The 14-week confidential and voluntary Too Many Treasures Hoarding begins in February.

Burlington Times-News

Only in the past few years have researchers begun to study compulsive hoarding, also known as hoarding disorder, which is defined as “a pattern of behavior that is characterized by excessive acquisition and saving of items that have little or no value and an inability or unwillingness to discard these objects that cover the living areas of the home and cause significant distress or impairment.” This condition is prevalent in up to 5 percent of adults, with symptoms usually appearing in childhood and worsening with advanced age. People who experience depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder appear to be more susceptible.

The Boston Globe

The fire last February that killed 86-year-old Beverly resident Renee Mary – known as “The Duck Lady” because she would stop traffic to shepherd birds across busy Hale Street at Endicott College – put the spotlight on the local hoarding disorder issue among the elderly. But what they found when they came to battle the blaze was nothing new to the city’s firefighters. In 32 years, Fire Chief Paul Cotter recalled two other calls when firefighters had difficulty entering because doors were obstructed by clutter. Many other times, they witnessed similar conditions during a wellness check or a medical call.